When I had intense legal problems I found myself being stupid and then regretted decades ago judging all the kids at school who may have had horrific home lives.

speak for yourself.

I live in Cambridge MA. one of the smartest/richest places on the planet. Lots of people are stupid here and anxious and exhausted even making 300-400K a year and living lives of luxury and privilege.

the crux of it is they are just selfish jerks who don't care about anyone else and are supremely overconfident about how genius they are... and that arrogance makes them incredibly gullible and stupid when a charming personality tries to convince them that vaccines cause autism. and their biggest complaint about their lives is that they don't have more luxury and privledge and that they are actually 'struggling' in life because they can't afford to charter jets and have to 'suffer' first class plane travel.

I hope so. I really don't know anymore though, at a certain point it's a choice. Maybe it's what they'd like me to think to betray my fellow workers to the man, but it's harder and harder to justify people falling over and over for obvious corporate traps when alternatives are extremely available and it would take just the tiniest bit of agency on their behalf to go for that and information is more available than ever.

Probably true, but I don't think that warrants the stupidity being put in scare quotes like that. Regardless of whether it is intrinsic or extrinsic stupidity, stupidity by nature or by nurture, the result is genuine stupidity all the same